Silva not forced to take pay, city attorney clarifies in memo

STOCKTON - Nobody at City Hall forced Mayor Anthony Silva to start taking his salary, according to an internal memo City Attorney John Luebberke sent this week to Silva and each council member.

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By Scott Smith

recordnet.com

By Scott Smith

Posted Jun. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 14, 2013 at 12:03 PM

By Scott Smith

Posted Jun. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 14, 2013 at 12:03 PM

» Social News

STOCKTON - Nobody at City Hall forced Mayor Anthony Silva to start taking his salary, according to an internal memo City Attorney John Luebberke sent this week to Silva and each council member.

Luebberke sent the memo, which The Record obtained Thursday, in response to public statements Silva made, saying that the city attorney's advice gave him no alternative but to take the pay.

Silva announced Tuesday that he would break a campaign promise and take the $102,000 yearly salary, including back pay from his first day in office in January.

Silva said Luebberke advised him that he could be responsible for paying taxes on the salary even if he didn't take it.

In the memo, Luebberke, who declined to comment for this story, rebutted Silva's position, saying he sought to clarify the advice he had given the mayor.

Luebberke said he told the mayor that he could face a tax liability despite forgoing the paycheck, unless he signed a form waiving the salary. Luebberke said he gave Silva the waiver.

"The mayor chose not to execute the waiver, and instead chose to accept the salary," Luebberke wrote.

Silva, in a text message to The Record, said that he never stated he was "forced" to do anything, but the city attorney's advice made his options clear.

If he declined the money, Silva said he would be donating it to the city's general fund. He chose rather to do something with the money that would help people, pledging much of his back pay to a list of local charities.

"Donating $18,500 is a good start," said Silva, adding that he's since received a flood of requests for donations. "I will continue to make donations in the future!"

The largest recipient of $10,000 will be the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stockton, where Silva serves as president and CEO.

"I did not sign the waiver because it would have not allowed me to do anything POSITIVE with the funds," he said.

Silva first pledged to forgo his city paycheck last year as the underdog candidate in a hard-fought race against incumbent Ann Johnston. Silva emerged as the winner.

At the time, Silva said he wouldn't take taxpayers' money until the city balanced its budget and put a sufficient number of police officers on the street to make Stockton safe.

Today, Stockton still needs more police, Silva conceded, but crime is down, and the City Council is expected to adopt a balanced budget this month. In bankruptcy, Stockton's proposed budget will suspend $22 million in debt.

Silva said Tuesday he anticipated political fallout over taking the pay from some people while others would say that "the guy probably deserves the money."

Johnston declined to comment for this story. As mayor, she accepted a city paycheck but refused two raises, in part, by sending a letter to human resources. By this means, Johnston did not have to pay taxes on money she declined.

It remains unclear whether Silva will continue to draw his $100,000 annual salary from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stockton, where he serves as CEO. This month, Silva said he waived his Boys & Girls Club check in light of a shortfall.

Allen Sawyer, a political consultant and associate of Silva, said the mayor was correct in that he would have had to pay taxes on the waived money, or sign it away.

"His campaign promise was never to waive forever," Sawyer said. "So, he is taking the salary and is donating a significant amount to charities."

City spokeswoman Connie Cochran said the waiver could have been revoked at any point had Silva signed it.